First DIY - How to mix base?

[BrotherBob]

May like to read:
dannyv45's blog | E-Cigarette Forum
Hoosier's blog | E-Cigarette Forum
DIY Resources
You will want to scroll down to Sir2fyablyNutz thread, he lists most of the places you can find recipes.
Re: First DIY Order

 

[dannyv45]

That's a HUGE help, thank you folks so much! I haven't been able to get Scubabatdan's current calculator to download (will keep trying), but I think I got everything plugged into the ejuice Me Up calculator correctly, and based on the numbers Sugar_and_Spice provided, the measurements work out, so I think I'm good to go!
View attachment 549779

You plugged in the numbers correctly you just need to uncheck the zero flavorings so it compensates for the added PG from the flavorings. If the vanilla extract is suspended in alcohol then leave that checked. Other then that it looks like your all set to go.........Congrats.

 

[Squidward]

Thanks again for everyone's help on this last night. I mixed my first flavor today:

Orange Dreamcicle
From: E-Liquid Recipe Book

80% Orange Cream (Lorann)
20% Vanilla Extract

20% flavor with a 80/20 PG/VG mix

And it doesn't suck! It ain't wonderful, and it certainly isn't a Dreamsicle, but it's vapable. Very cool!

 

[JCinFLA]

Orange Dreamcicle
From: E-Liquid Recipe Book

80% Orange Cream (Lorann)
20% Vanilla Extract

20% flavor with a 80/20 PG/VG mix

I'm confused by the above % for each thing you've shown. Maybe that's why it doesn't suck, but "ain't wonderful, and it certainly isn't a Dreamsicle." Can you clarify how much of each you used, and how many mL you were making?

 

[dannyv45]

I think I understand what he's saying he used 20% total flavor of which 80% of that total flavor was orange and 20% was vanilla. It's an unusual way of stating a recipe but accurate enough.

I think it would be more like 16% orange and 4% vanilla = 20% total flavor.

 

[Rickb119]

Thanks again for everyone's help on this last night. I mixed my first flavor today:

Orange Dreamcicle
From: E-Liquid Recipe Book

80% Orange Cream (Lorann)
20% Vanilla Extract

20% flavor with a 80/20 PG/VG mix

And it doesn't suck! It ain't wonderful, and it certainly isn't a Dreamsicle, but it's vapable. Very cool!

Most vanilla flavorings (and especially extract) take some time to "fully develop". At 3-4 weeks the flavor will really come alive and you may find that 4% is a little much.

When I first used real vanilla I added a little to my mix and couldn't really taste it so I added more, and more, and more. Went through several coils (vanilla is coil gunker) and decided not to use it again.
Tried it again a while back (after learning that some flavors need to steep for a while). This time I only put in .5% and let it sit in the cupboard. At 2 weeks I could just begin to taste it. At 3-4 weeks it was a full, rich vanilla flavor.

 

[Squidward]

I'm confused by the above % for each thing you've shown. Maybe that's why it doesn't suck, but "ain't wonderful, and it certainly isn't a Dreamsicle." Can you clarify how much of each you used, and how many mL you were making?

I think I understand what he's saying he used 20% total flavor of which 80% of that total flavor was orange and 20% was vanilla. It's an unusual way of stating a recipe but accurate enough.

I think it would be more like 16% orange and 4% vanilla = 20% total flavor.

@dannyv45 has it right. The flavoring itself was an 80/20 mix of orange and vanilla and flavoring comprised 20% of the recipe, i.e. 16%/4% of the 3ml I made.

I've had this sour, bitter taste in my mouth all week and I think that's colored my opinion of the recipe. The orange cream has been tasting like more like orange peel, but either the juice mellowed overnight or my taste buds are in better shape this morning because it's a bit more pleasant today.

 

[Squidward]

Most vanilla flavorings (and especially extract) take some time to "fully develop". At 3-4 weeks the flavor will really come alive and you may find that 4% is a little much.

When I first used real vanilla I added a little to my mix and couldn't really taste it so I added more, and more, and more. Went through several coils (vanilla is coil gunker) and decided not to use it again.
Tried it again a while back (after learning that some flavors need to steep for a while). This time I only put in .5% and let it sit in the cupboard. At 2 weeks I could just begin to taste it. At 3-4 weeks it was a full, rich vanilla flavor.

That's good to know, thank you. I had the same experience - wound up adding more vanilla trying to smooth out the recipe and still couldn't taste it. I doubt I'll do much more work on this mix - I only went with it because Dreamsicle sounded yummy and I only had to buy one flavoring (orange cream) to try my first recipe. I'll mix up another small bottle and set it aside for a few weeks, though, and see how it matures.

 

[Sugar_and_Spice]

That's good to know, thank you. I had the same experience - wound up adding more vanilla trying to smooth out the recipe and still couldn't taste it. I doubt I'll do much more work on this mix - I only went with it because Dreamsicle sounded yummy and I only had to buy one flavoring (orange cream) to try my first recipe. I'll mix up another small bottle and set it aside for a few weeks, though, and see how it matures.

What type of vanilla did you use?

 

[JCinFLA]

I think I understand what he's saying he used 20% total flavor of which 80% of that total flavor was orange and 20% was vanilla.

Gotcha! Thought it might be something like that, after I posted my questions and thought about it some more.

 

[Squidward]

What type of vanilla did you use?

The recipe called for vanilla extract so I used some McCormick Pure Vanilla Extract I had in the pantry.

 

[Squidward]

What type of vanilla did you use?

The recipe called for vanilla extract so I used some McCormick Pure Vanilla Extract I had in the pantry.

 

[dannyv45]

@dannyv45

I've had this sour, bitter taste in my mouth all week and I think that's colored my opinion of the recipe. The orange cream has been tasting like more like orange peel, but either the juice mellowed overnight or my taste buds are in better shape this morning because it's a bit more pleasant today.

Taste bud burn out is very common in the vaping community. A little mouth wash helps. I will sometimes drink a few sips of milk or suck on a mint. But the best remedy is to switch to a different flavored mix or just give it an hour or so rest. I often will carry around 3 or four different mixes to rotate through, through out the day.

 

[dannyv45]

The recipe called for vanilla extract so I used some McCormick Pure Vanilla Extract I had in the pantry.

Those extracts are usually not concentrated enough for DIY ejuice so I can understand your poor results with it. You can concentrate it more by evaporating out about 80% of the alcohol then use the remainder at about 5%. Warming it on a hot plate or in a candle warmer will make quick work of evaporating out the alcohol.

If your looking for a vanilla with a creamy note which is more likely what you want for the orange Dreamcycle I would recommend.

Capalla's Vanilla custard.

Vanilla Custard V2-Cap

 

[Squidward]

Taste bud burn out is very common in the vaping community. A little mouth wash helps. I will sometimes drink a few sips of milk or suck on a mint. But the best remedy is to switch to a different flavored mix or just give it an hour or so rest. I often will carry around 3 or four different mixes to rotate through, through out the day.

I tried changing flavors, they all had the same bitterness. Drinking more water and brushing my teeth more frequently (no mouthwash or peppermint in the house) seems to be helping a bit. Guess I'll just wait it out - vaping unflavored 50/50 this afternoon, trying to clear my pallette.

Those extracts are usually not concentrated enough for DIY ejuice so I can understand your poor results with it. [...] If your looking for a vanilla with a creamy note which is more likely what you want for the orange Dreamcycle I would recommend.

Capalla's Vanilla custard.

Vanilla Custard V2-Cap

That does sound good. I ordered a small bottle to try, along with some ethyl maltol & FW Cotton Candy I was planning to get today anyway. Thanks!

 

[dannyv45]

That does sound good. I ordered a small bottle to try, along with some ethyl maltol & FW Cotton Candy I was planning to get today anyway. Thanks!

Careful with the EM and cotton candy. It's not really a sweetener it works better for adding wetness, thickness and body to a mix. It only enhances the sweetness of already sweet flavors but does not add sweetness. If you use to much it will actually mute flavor. Recommended amount is .5% but no more then 1%.

If it's sweetening your after use regular sweetener (Sweetener-TFA ) at about 1% - 2% any more and you will start burning your wicks and crusting over your coils which will lead to reduced flavor and vapor production.

You may want to read my blog on additives.

Sweetening and additives | E-Cigarette Forum

All my other blogs can be found here.

dannyv45's blog | E-Cigarette Forum

 

[Squidward]

Careful with the EM and cotton candy. It's not really a sweetener it works better for adding wetness, thickness and body to a mix. It only enhances the sweetness of already sweet flavors but does not add sweetness. If you use to much it will actually mute flavor. Recommended amount is .5% but no more then 1%.

If it's sweetening your after use regular sweetener (Sweetener-TFA ) at about 1% - 2% any more and you will start burning your wicks and crusting over your coils which will lead to reduced flavor and vapor production.

Noted. When I've researched sweeteners, EM and Cotton Candy have gotten a lot of mentions, but the reviews on Sweetener-TFA at Bull City are all raves, so I went ahead and ordered a bottle of it to add to my small-but-growing collection of ingredients. Happily, Bull City is pretty reasonable on shipping charges.

I didn't realize until today how sweet VG was (VERY sweet), so it may be I'm barking up the wrong tree trying to add sweetener, anyway. I'll check out your blogs, but probably won't do much with recipes for a few days. @Izan put me on to one-shot flavorings in another thread so I'm going to vape my commercial juice a little while longer and go a simpler route with a one-shot flavoring to maybe get off to a simpler start with DIY.

 

[Squidward]

Did I say Bull City was reasonable on shipping charges? I placed two orders yesterday and wasn't thrilled about paying two shipping charges, however reasonable, and received the below note out of the blue from Bull City this morning:

WE HAVE COMBINED YOUR ORDERS AND REFUNDED THE SHIPPING DIFFERENCE TO YOUR BULL CITY VAPOR ACCOUNT IN THE AMOUNT OF $2.95.

THANK YOU,
TERRY (BCV)

Wow, giving money back? Who does that?

 

[jambi]

Wow, giving money back? Who does that?

BCV.

 

[Sugar_and_Spice]

Did I say Bull City was reasonable on shipping charges? I placed two orders yesterday and wasn't thrilled about paying two shipping charges, however reasonable, and received the below note out of the blue from Bull City this morning:

WE HAVE COMBINED YOUR ORDERS AND REFUNDED THE SHIPPING DIFFERENCE TO YOUR BULL CITY VAPOR ACCOUNT IN THE AMOUNT OF $2.95.

THANK YOU,
TERRY (BCV)

Wow, giving money back? Who does that?

That is great. I don't think too many would do that but some will. Best to make up a list of things you decide you want to try and at the end of the day place one order. Or a lot of vendors shopping carts will save your items placed in them and you can accumulate an order over days or longer as long as you sign in to your account with them and then when you are ready check out.

I find BCV to have the best prices for their flavorings. Some are priced lower than you can get direct(not all) from the manufactor.
Anyway, so much to learn about your new adventure. Good luck.